Huawei Bets Americans Will Want Contract-Free Phones

A new smartphone brand is coming to the U.S. this year, and its name is “Honor”.

The brand is a new effort by China’s Huawei Technologies to get a toehold in the U.S. market. While Huawei is the world’s largest telecommunications gear maker and it sold 75 million smartphones globally last year, only a sliver came from the U.S. (Huawei launched its first self-branded smartphone in the U.S. last year.)

Huawei has already sold 20 million Honor smartphones last year, mainly in China. Honor has followed in Xiaomi’s footsteps in China by selling its devices unlocked online rather than through operators, cutting overhead expenses.